What are common misconceptions about Server-Side Rendering?

Common misconceptions include: SSR is always slower than static generation. Actually, SSR with caching can be nearly as fast while supporting dynamic content. Also, SSR is required for SEO. Actually, static generation provides even better SEO performance since pages are pre-built..

Glossary

What is Server-Side Rendering?

Generating HTML on the server for each request, allowing pages to be fully rendered before reaching the browser, improving initial load performance and SEO for dynamic content.

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In Depth

Understanding the Details

Server-side rendering (SSR) generates the complete HTML for a page on the server before sending it to the browser. This contrasts with client-side rendering where the browser receives minimal HTML and JavaScript builds the page. SSR benefits include faster initial page loads (content is visible immediately), better SEO (search engines see fully rendered content), and improved social sharing (meta tags are present in the initial HTML). The trade-off is server processing time for each request and increased server load compared to serving pre-built static files. In modern frameworks like Next.js, SSR is one rendering strategy among several — used selectively for pages that need fresh data on every request while static generation handles content that doesn't change frequently.

Examples

How It Works in Practice

Personalised dashboard

A user's dashboard is server-rendered with their specific data, appearing fully loaded instantly rather than showing a loading spinner while client-side fetching completes.

Dynamic pricing page

A pricing page that varies by region is server-rendered to show the correct currency and pricing without client-side detection and rerender.

Search results page

Search result pages are server-rendered so they're indexable by search engines and load instantly for users, improving both SEO and UX.

Importance

Why It Matters

For dynamic content that needs to be SEO-friendly and fast-loading, SSR provides the best balance between performance and content freshness.

Misconceptions

What People Often Get Wrong

SSR is always slower than static generation. Actually, SSR with caching can be nearly as fast while supporting dynamic content.

SSR is required for SEO. Actually, static generation provides even better SEO performance since pages are pre-built.

SSR means rendering everything on the server. Actually, modern approaches use streaming SSR and selective hydration for optimal performance.

Our Approach

How We Handle Server-Side Rendering

We use SSR selectively for dynamic, personalised content while leveraging static generation and ISR for content pages, choosing the right rendering strategy per page type.